‘Lainie, come on. One of your skills is being able to see how much I want something, right? So go ahead. How much do I want to get Tessa back? And how much do I want you to stay out of this?’
There was no doubt.
His expression softened a little. ‘You aren’t wrong, though. Going in on my own could put Tessa in even more danger. We have resources right here,’ he said, pointing towards the door to the station. ‘Please?’
The word please was hard to ignore.
He ushered me towards the two-storey brick building. ‘Besides, don’t you think the police should be given a full report on what we’ve found out?’
Yes and no. What exactly was he going to tell them? We came to Melbourne on a whim and just happen to think they might be in a derelict house in Epping? We walked through the doors with Dallmin trailing along behind like a lost puppy. I knew how he felt.
‘We have some new information about the abduction of Tessa Ashbree, from Nalong,’ Bane explained to the constable at the front desk. ‘Sergeant Loxwood asked us to contact him if we thought of anything else but I’m not supposed to use this phone to make calls.’
The woman typed a query into her computer, frowning as she caught up on the details of the reported case. She started to chew on her pen while she read, and stopped herself with a jolt. Some habits were tricky to break. ‘What sort of new information?’ she asked.
‘I believe I know where they are.’ He pointed to her notepad but she shook her head.
‘Come with me, please,’ she said, indicating to someone else to take over at the desk. She led us into a small interview room, much more modern than the one in our home town, though equally stark. ‘Wait here while I make some calls. I won’t be long.’
The minute she closed the door, Bane had my aunt’s phone in his hand, dialling. ‘Lily. We’re in Melbourne and Lainie has narrowed down the search. We’ve heard from the evil bastard and he said Tessa’s okay. I’ll send Noah a text to let him know. We’re at the police station now, waiting to find out what they want to do next.’
I leant closer to try to hear what my aunt was saying but there were other people talking in the background so it was a bit chaotic. Something about a snobby officer from Horsham wanting Noah to make a statement in person, and fingerprint samples, and that we should provide ours while we were at the station so they could rule them out.
When Bane hung up, I had to ask. ‘What do we do if the police start asking more questions we can’t answer?’
Bane looked at his watch and didn’t reply.
‘Are you certain you want Sergeant Loxwood involved in this any more than necessary? I don’t entirely—’
The door opened and the receptionist came back in with some bottled water, advising us that the sergeant had finished his interview and was coming over to see us. The technicians had listened in on the call to Noah’s phone and they ‘had a few questions’. I bet they did. So did I. Like why were we stuck here when we could be getting Tess away from that madman? I wasn’t exactly powerless, even if I did lack any sort of useful control. I should be at least trying to do something.
Bane studied my sullen expression but didn’t comment. He fiddled with the label on his water bottle, and every few seconds a slight tremor rocked him as if to remind him that I was still in danger. There was nothing I could do to help, so we waited. After a while even Dallmin started to frown at Bane as if he had changed his mind. By then it was too late.
When Sergeant Loxwood arrived twenty minutes later, he got straight down to business. ‘Why didn’t Noah answer the phone?’ was the first thing he asked.
‘The reception on the farm is dodgy. We thought it would be better for him to give the phone to us so we wouldn’t miss any calls.’ It was a pathetic explanation and we all knew it. Except maybe Dallmin.
‘And when did you last see Noah in person?’ He sat down without breaking eye contact with my Guardian.
‘Last night, when we swapped phones.’
Not even a second’s pause before the next question. ‘Why did you come to Melbourne?’
Crunch time. I looked at Bane, curious as to how he would handle it.
‘I can’t answer that,’ he replied honestly, meeting the policeman’s gaze head on. ‘But I know they’re near here. Did you trace the call?’
The policeman looked furious. ‘We did. And you’re right, they’re not far from here. We also know how close you were when the call was made.’
‘I thought it wise not to get any closer,’ Bane said, and they both glanced at me.
The sergeant made a noise that was somewhere between a sigh and a grunt, and then leant back in his chair. ‘There’s a team preparing to go in as we speak. You need to tell us everything you know before we risk those officers, Lance Corporal Millard.’ Apparently he wanted to remind Bane that he expected a certain level of professionalism from him.
My stressed out Guardian struck back with his own vehement tone. ‘What I know is that Lainie is his real target. You heard what he said. I honestly have no idea who this guy is but I won’t play his games. You know where he is now. You have people trained for this, so send them in. I’m more than happy to go with them in whatever capacity you need, so long as you agree to keep Lainie safe with you until this is resolved.’
Wait. What?
‘Deal,’ the sergeant said far too quickly. ‘She can come with me now, and I won’t let her out of my sight.’
I rocked back in my seat, thunderstruck. He wouldn’t, would he? Had he thought this through? What if we got separated too far? How would he be able to help Tess if he was sick? He wouldn’t even be able to look after himself! My mind burned for answers that no one gave me, and then I was somehow being led from the room, and Bane was refusing to even look at me. He sat with his right hand in his pocket, fiddling with something, so he didn’t see the expression on my face. He didn’t see how betrayed I felt.
‘Don’t I get any say in this?’ I pleaded with the policeman, tears starting to fall as he shut the door behind us. I couldn’t believe Bane was willingly letting me go. Protecting me was supposed to be his divinely appointed job. Outsourcing was not meant to be part of the deal.
‘There is very clear evidence to suggest that you’re a target. Don’t worry, Ms Gracewood, this will all get resolved soon. Finally.’
I wanted to resist but I couldn’t seem to remember how to go about it.
He made a quick call as he shepherded me down the hall towards the back of the station. ‘Send the team in,’ was his only curt instruction before hanging up and slipping the phone back into his pocket. They weren’t even waiting for Bane. I was relieved, in a miserable sort of way.
‘What happens now? Will you keep Bane and Dallmin here?’
He shook his head, running his fingers through his short spikey hair. ‘We have no reason to keep them. They can do whatever they want. It’s you I want to talk to.’
He gripped my elbow and led me through the sally port where my nose was accosted with the long-forgotten stink of beer, vomit and cigarettes. Did all custody areas smell this bad? Or had this station hosted some of the overflow from the previous night’s footy crowds? Must have been a Collingwood match. As we headed out to the car park, the gusty wind tugged at my hair as if trying to pull me back inside again.
‘Please can we stay fairly close? I … I don’t think I could handle another long car trip right now and I want to be nearby when they bring Tessa back.’
Ignoring me completely, Sergeant Loxwood headed for the farthest of three marked sedans. Unlike the other two, its blue sillitoe tartan was sullied with speckles of Nalong mud.
‘Where are we going, anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be leading this investigation?’ I asked. I didn’t trust this man. He seemed too … relentless.
‘There are better people than me in charge of the investigation now. We’re
going somewhere we can talk privately. I need answers from you, Ms Gracewood, and I’m not letting you out of my sight until I get them.’
I craned my neck to look back at the station for as long as possible as we drove away, half expecting to see Bane come running out after me as he changed his mind. But he didn’t come.
Chapter 32
Bane’s tremors still hadn’t eased. They wouldn’t until she was far away from danger, probably at about the time that the nausea kicked in. He would prefer the nausea. Having Lainie at any sort of risk was just too hard. He’d spent three years replaying that hideous scene in the cave over and over in his mind, trying to work out what he could have done differently, and had realised early on that he should never have let her get that close to danger in the first place. What good was a premonition of a threat if he didn’t act on it? She might never forgive him for this betrayal, but it was far better than the alternative. He was just thankful that she hadn’t remembered how to resist people yet or he and the sergeant would never have been able to get away with bullying her into leaving. As it was, he knew the policeman was pushing his professional boundaries by allowing her to think she had no choice in the matter.
Dallmin sat cross-legged on the floor in the corner of the room, watching him. He seemed impatient but was deferring to his judgement on how best to proceed. A female officer had come in shortly after Lainie had left and advised them that an operation was underway to ‘extract the hostage’. They must have been ready to move as soon as the sergeant had given them the go-ahead. She had been given no instructions regarding them so they were free to go if they wished. As if they would leave until there was news.
Another excruciating hour passed before the door finally opened again, and two male officers entered. The slim female officer came in last, catching his eye and shaking her head slightly. Another tremor rocked him.
One of the men shook his hand, but didn’t quite know what to do with Dallmin who was still on the floor. ‘Mr Millard, Mr … Dallmin, my name is Detective Senior Constable Damian Franklin. I have news regarding this morning’s operation.’
Placing a file on the table, the heavy-set man sat down across from him.
‘Unfortunately they were unsuccessful. The perpetrator and victim had left by the time the team arrived.’
No! He had trusted them. They were trained for these sorts of situations. For God’s sake, even he was trained for them. Why couldn’t they do their bloody job properly? He clenched his jaw as the detective pulled a couple of photos from the file and slid them across. They showed a dingy looking suburban lounge room, bare of all furniture except for a small table and two chairs. One of the chairs had shreds of duct tape still stuck to its arms. There was a hole in the floor in front of the chair, the carpet a shredded mess around it.
‘Yes, someone shot the floor at her feet. We’re guessing it was some sort of hunting rifle,’ the detective confirmed. ‘Probably trying to scare her into talking. There’s no evidence of blood.’
Bane felt bile rising in his throat. Oh, Tessa, how did we let this happen to you again?
The detective closed the folder. ‘It’s likely that the abductor was aware that the call would be traced, which was not entirely unexpected. We just didn’t make it there quickly enough, I’m sorry.’
Because they had been waiting for Loxwood’s advice to proceed. What had taken him so long?
The man studied Bane’s face as if testing his reaction. ‘Perhaps if we had at least known they were in Melbourne we could have been ready sooner. How did you know to come down here?’
Bane stayed silent.
Detective Franklin sat up a bit straighter. ‘Mr Millard, I need you to be aware that you could be charged with a criminal offence if you continue to refuse to disclose relevant information to us. How did you know where they were?’
It was so difficult to remain composed when his heart and soul were screaming for violent action. Lainie was pulling at him so hard he felt as if he would be yanked straight out of his chair if he let go of his emotions for even a second. The farther away she got the worse it was getting and he didn’t know if that was because the bond was punishing him for the distance, or if it meant she was getting closer to danger. His head hurt.
Another tremor passed through his body as he leant forwards to answer. ‘I can’t tell you. Trust me, if I could say anything at all that would help you to find Tess, I would tell you in an instant. Please say that you have some sort of a lead as to where they might have gone. What have you found so far? I grew up in Nalong so I know most of the community. If it was a local that took her, I might know something that could help. I’ll do anything you ask.’
His sincerity seemed to pacify the man a fraction, but silence reigned for a long minute before the detective finally nodded.
‘It was likely that the attacker had been watching the Gracewood’s farmhouse for at least a couple of days. Lily mentioned a gate had been left open recently?’
‘Yeah. Some stock got out. It happens sometimes, we didn’t think much of it.’
‘He may have seen you, Lainie and Dallmin leave for your trip to Bright. We don’t know. Then on Thursday night Noah received a message, requesting a meeting in town Friday morning with a buyer that never showed. Someone wanted him out of the way. The Facebook profile the message came from was a fake, although we may have found a tenuous link to a drug dealer who is currently serving time in Port Phillip Prison. We’re still looking into the dealer’s other contacts for anyone with a link to Nalong.’
Damn. He’d known something was off earlier in the week. It had felt so good to get away from the farm—to get Lainie away from there.
The detective continued. ‘Once the perpetrator was sure Noah and Lily were gone, he probably drove straight up to the house. If he confronted Tessa with a rifle, she wouldn’t have risked fighting back, which would be why there was no sign of a struggle.’
‘Definitely a man?’ Bane asked. ‘The call was run through a cheap voice-changing app.’
‘Most likely. Someone’s been shaving recently in the bathroom sink of the house you found, and there was a can of men’s deodorant left behind. Samples from the pizza box, beer cans and cigarette butts have been taken for testing but the results won’t be available any time soon, and will depend on having something on record to match them to. Squatters have been evicted from the house numerous times over the last few years, any of whom could have left those items behind. And before you ask, there are a lot of different groups of people who are aware of its … availability, so it will take some time to track him down that way.’
The message was clear. They were not expecting to resolve this quickly, and they blamed him. Nodding slowly, Bane fell back on his training. ‘Any witnesses in regards to the car?’ he asked.
‘Not as yet. Door knocking is still in progress. The car will be our number one lead if we can get anything from the neighbours.’
Bane’s nerves still felt as tight as a kite string in a cyclone, as if he could snap at any moment.
‘Where is Sergeant Loxwood taking Lainie?’
The man looked disconcerted for a second before answering. ‘I don’t know.’
He could feel that they had headed west and stopped about half an hour away, which apparently wasn’t far enough to stop his tremors. Maybe it meant that the kidnapper was still close by. Perhaps he should let Noah come down to Melbourne so he could track them, and that way he could still keep Lainie out of it. Over four hours from Nalong to Melbourne. That would mean at least three hours of violent nausea for Tessa. Was it worth the risk? Probably, if that was the only problem. Unfortunately he was more concerned about what Noah would do when he found her. He would be under direct threat and Bane couldn’t allow that. And Tess would be unable to stop herself from trying to defend him, at any cost. No. Noah needed to remain where he was, even if it meant having the police treat him
as a suspect, which they seemed to be heading towards.
Detective Senior Constable Franklin closed the file and clasped his hands together. ‘Mr Millard, let me be blunt with you. I can see you are feeling somewhat … under the weather. If all this has something to do with illicit drug dealing then let me assure you that Theresa Ashbree’s safety is our first and foremost priority. Anything you can do to assist will go a long way to mitigating any consequences you might have to face once this criminal is caught.’
Bane stared in shocked confusion for all of four seconds before giving a rueful laugh. ‘You think I’m on something? No. I’m not. Run any test you like. I don’t do drugs and I never have. Don’t waste your time searching those sorts of leads because it won’t get us anywhere. Drugs have nothing to do with any of this.’ There was only one drug he craved, and he had sent her away. He would not fail her again.
The detective turned his attention to Dallmin, eyeing him dubiously as if mentally running through the list of all the narcotic side-effects he knew. The ancient youth was watching everyone with wide innocent eyes and childlike impatience. A moment of apprehension gripped Bane as he wondered what would happen if they did find a reason to run any tests on Dallmin. What unusual traits would his blood work show up?
The officer looked back at Bane with a resigned sigh. ‘You have a good reputation with your commanding officer. I hope he’s right about your integrity and competence. I won’t waste any more time on that line of questioning. You’re right about us working together, Mr Millard. Maybe you’ll notice some detail that means something to you as a local that we might miss. Is there somewhere Dallmin can stay, or can he drive himself back to Nalong?’
Dallmin shot him a warning look and Bane knew he was not going to be sent away as easily as Lainie had been. Nothing would stop him from searching for Tessa, because for someone who was hundreds of years old, even asking everyone in Melbourne individually might not be too daunting a task.
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